Cricket: Labuschagne change which could save Test future

Marnus Labuschagne is in the middle of a tough run of form for Australia which has brought his Test future into question. But could the solution land in one simple change?

At training before his 50th Test this week, Marnus Labuschagne was seen practising a recent addition to his strokemaking repertoire – a golf swing.

In his early years, Labuschagne was more of a tennis player (he once challenged Ash Barty to a game) but he has recently taken to golf and there is a school of thought this is a good thing.

From Don Bradman, Bob Simpson, Ricky Ponting and a large batch of modern players, shooting bogeys and birdies on the golf course has been a soothing tonic for the stresses of the cluttered cricket mind.

Allan Border once said: “When I was captain of Australia, there were very few places I could go to escape from pressures of the job but once I was on the golf course everything changed as you only had to worry about that little white ball.’’

Labuschagne could do with a circuit breaker after a rugged period during which his average has declined from more than 60 in August 2022 to 49.6 entering the Test against New Zealand in Christchurch on Friday.

The widespread discussion over his form is a coat of many threads.

Australia's Marnus Labuschagne is far too familiar with the long walk back after a low score. (Photo by Marty MELVILLE / AFP)

THE CHILL-OUT FACTOR

Mark Waugh said on Fox Sports Back Page Live this week that a friend of his saw Labuschagne playing shadow shots in a department store before the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne.

“The worrying sign for me is he’s so intense,’’ Waugh said. “He’s 24 hours a day – eats, sleeps and drinks cricket. And I wonder when you get in a bit of a rut, is that going to suffocate you?’’

As a player, Waugh chilled out by going to races on tour. His brother Steve liked sightseeing. Matthew Hayden surfed. Andrew Symonds fished.

Most of the big boys had that happy place away from cricket that nourished and refreshed them.

Maybe this is what golf can now be for Labuschagne.

LUCK’S A FORTUNE

Two years ago, Labuschagne was dubbed the game’s luckiest cricketer after he was dropped 16 times in Tests between July 2019 and December 2022.

Fox Cricket calculated that if caught each time off the first chance he offered he would average 44 and not 60 in this period.

His luck has dried up now, though. Most chances he gives are swallowed whole. It has played a major role in chopping down his average.

Marnus Labuschagne was dismissed for 1 and 2 in the first Test against New Zealand. PIcture: Getty Images)

THE THREE-YEAR BAND

Cricket’s most experienced journalist, the London Telegraph’s Scyld Berry, has a theory that most of the game’s top batsmen only have around three years of greatness.

“You see their final average of say 48 but it’s not as if they just routinely did that every year,’’ Berry said.

“They’ll have three or so years where they average 65, a couple when they average 35.

“If you have more than three really great years, you are a special player.’’

Australia's Marnus Labuschagne and Cameron Green endured very different first Tests. Picture: AFP

THE REAL MARNUS

Who is the real Marnus?

For much of his first-class career before making his Test debut with Travis Head, Labuschagne’s average had floated in the early 30s for Queensland yet he sprouted wings once chosen for Australia.

It was a remarkable and most unusual trajectory and a credit to Labuschagne’s zest for the big occasion.

His improvement was astonishing. It should be no surprise there has been an adjustment period.

Labuschagne does not have to suddenly rediscover the gear that made him the world’s best batsman but Australia will be greatly relieved if he can lift a couple from where he is because it craves for him to be an anchorman for the next generation.

Originally published as Cricket: Labuschagne change which could save Test future